Resilience among nurses working at the Klerksdorp/Tshepong hospital in the North West Province

Abstract

Background: The primary reason for nurses to enter this profession is because of their caring nature. Pressure, work load, having to juggle multiple roles and staff shortages; however, make them vulnerable to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a feeling of reduced personal accomplishment – commonly known as burnout. Some nurses can work through these challenges according to literature, and remain in this profession. Literature further indicates that, when faced with adversities, nurses possess the ability to bounce back and continue to provide quality patient care. Although a lot of research has been done on the concept of resilience abroad there is a paucity of information regarding this phenomenon among nurses in South Africa. This makes it thus vital to explore and describe the incidence of resilience among the nurses working at the Klerksdorp/Tshepong hospital in the North West Province. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore and describe strengths that contribute to the resilience of nurses working at the Klerksdorp/Tshepong hospital, to determine the incidence of resilience in nurses working at the Klerksdorp/Tshepong hospital and to formulate recommendations to strengthen the resilience of nurses. Design: A mixed method design approach was used to achieve the above-mentioned objectives. Results: The results of the quantitative phase suggest that the group of nurses showed a high degree of resilience. This was evident when the score of 89 out of a total of 100 was achieved by applying the CD-RISC. The participants scored high on item 11 (I believe I can achieve my goals, even if there are obstacles) and 25 (I take pride in my achievements). The participants scored 77% (m =3.75, SD = 0.59) for both items. In the same context the participants scored low on the following: items 18 (I can make unpopular or difficult decisions that affect other people, if it is necessary) which scored the lowest with 53% (m = 3.22, SD = 1.1) and item 6 (I try to see the humorous side of things when I am faced with problems) with a score of 54% (m =3.3, SD = 0.86). In the qualitative phase, the results of this study yielded four themes that nurses described as strengths that contribute to resilience, namely, values, characteristics, skills and support. The first theme values identified two sub-themes, spiritual/religious and moral values. The second theme characteristics, identified professionalism and personal strengths as sub-themes. The third theme skills brought forward professional and personal skills as sub-themes. The fourth theme support identified the following sub-themes: professional and personal support. Conclusion: It could be concluded that the nurses working at the Klerksdorp/Tshepong hospital are resilient as was evident when viewing the results obtained from the CD-RISC. The nurses believe they can achieve their goals even if there are obstacles and they take pride in their achievements. In the same context, they find it difficult to make unpopular or difficult decisions that affect other people. From these findings the researcher proposed recommendations to strengthen the resilience of nurses. Recommendations were also compiled for nursing practice, nursing education and further research.